Grain-car door



(No Model.)

' B- F" GRAIN GAR DOOR.

No. 280,688. I Patented July 8, 1 88..

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x 8 Lvventor- N. PETERS Phela-Lnnom her. Wishmglon, n

I UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

B. FRANK TEAL, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

GRAIN-CAR DOOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 280,688, dated July 3, 1883,

Application filed May 11, 1882. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, B. FRANK TEAL, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Philadelphia, county of Philadelphia, and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Grain-Gar Doors, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to that class of cars intended for carrying grain; and it consists in constructing the grain-doors, as fully described hereinafter, to secure the ready removal of the grain when the same is banked against the door.

It further consists in a ready means of removing, stowing, and replacingthe door-panels without disconnecting them from the car.

It is necessary in employing grain-cars to quickly remove the grain-doors, that the grain may flow by gravity from the cars. As the men employed in removing the grain are paid in proportionto the amount of grain transferred, no trouble is taken to remove'any obstruc tion that interreres with the detaching of the doors, or to remove the portion of grain the pressure of which jams the panels immovably against their bearings; but instead the panels are broken or split and cut out withaxes, occasioning considerable loss to the car-owners. As it is almost impossible to construct the doors so that they will invariably slide easily in their bearings while sustaining a body of grain behind them, I have constructed the grain-doors with outwardly-opening sections or valves at the lower parts, which maybe securely locked, but readily unlocked and swung outward, permitting the body of grain behind the door to flow freely outward, until the panels are free from pressure and can be readily removed. Such valves may be made in different ways. For instance, the lower panel may be cut away, forming a long opening, which is provided with a hinged door swinging outwardly; or the lower panel may be hinged at one end to swing outward, a suitable locking device being used to hold the other end when closed. I prefer, however, to employ the construction shown in the drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a side part sectional view of sufficient of a grain-car to show my improved door closed. Fig. 2 is a perspective view in section, the door open. Fig. 31's a view from the inside, showing the side of the car.

The panels slide between vertical. guides a.

a at the sides of the door, and may be detachable therefrom or. permanently but movably retained, as hereinafter described, and the panel A is hinged by pivots, (shown in dotted lines, Fig. 1,) so that it can be turned outwardand down to a horizontal position, Fig. 2, a pivoted arm, I), which may be swung with its end behind a keeper, (1, as shown at Fig. 1, serving as a means of locking the panel when in a vertical position. By knocking up the end of the arm the panel is released, and, falling forward under the pressure of the grain, permit-s the latter to flow outward until there is no grain in contact with the upper panels, which can then be readily removed, suitable shoulders or stops, 2, preventing the said pan els descending below the position shown in Fig. 3. To afford better security, the middle panel, A, may be divided into two sections, h h, Fig. 2, the upper section being slightly longer than the lower, so as to rest with its ends on the stops t t, which limit its downward motion, and the lower section being hinged to the upper, so as to swing outward under pressurc. The front cleats or guides are cut away at 3 11 to permitthis forward swinging movement, the hinged section being retained in place by contact wit-h the outer lower panel, A'-, when the latter is turned upward and locked. By

this means the breaking or displacement of the arm I) will not result in the loss of grain at the outward movement of the lower panel, A'", and the latter will be limited by its contact with the outer sliding door, I, when the latter is closed, the section 71/ being held in place until the lower panel falls to a horizontal position.

As the panels are usually simple straight pieces of board, train-men are apt to be care less with them, and large numbers are lost or stolen. To prevent this I continue the cleats or guides a a to the top of the car, so that the panels can slide upward, but cannot be removed until opposite to'reeesses w in the strip separating the cleats, each recess being justdeep enough to receive one of the panels,

panel being-moved to one side and the other to the opposite side, entirely out of the way, but securely held, so as always to be available for use. Eaeh panel has a lug, .9, near one end, adapted to a notch, 11, in a rail, 11, at the top of the door-opening, the parts being arranged so that alter a panelis lifted to its full height and pushed a slight extent to one side thelug .will bear on the rail and support the panel,

preventing tilting a1nl 'ainn1ing'.

I elaim 1. The combination of the panels sliding between guides, one having a section hung to swing outwardly, and a supplemental panel, A, hung to swing outward, and a device for looking said latter panel, substantially as set forth.

2. The combination of the ear having guides for the panels, the outer guide being out away at y 1 and panels, one of which is provided with a hinged section, It, substantially as set forth.

3. The combination, in. a car, of the guides a a, receiving separate panels A A, and recesses u and guides '1' t" on opposite sides of.

the door, and arranged, substantially as specified, to permit different panels to be carried to different sides of the door.

4. The combination, with the ear, of panels, one having a hinged section, and stops upon the ear limiting the downward movements 01' the panels, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

TB. FRANK "EAL.

\Vitnesses:

Jxo. W. SIMS, (it. \V. F. SwAn'rznLL. 

